So the way it works at Laurie Dee’s is that you order and pay at the counter, receive a ticket number, and collect your food on a tray once your number is called out. The place wasn’t full at the time and we waited around 15-20 minutes for our number to be called out. As for the food, it was simple, greasy, and somewhat messily thrown together. There was almost a fast food quality about everything so as long as you know that this is what you are in for, you won’t be disappointed.

Unexpected burger filling that would have been more enjoyable had the brisket been less salty.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Footscray is not the first suburb that springs to mind when it comes to coffee and brunch. The owners of Rudimentary have done an excellent job at creating this earthy hipster cafe that makes you forget that you are in Footscray (that is until you look up at the high steel fencing surrounding the place). The cafe itself is cheery and vibrant with large open windows and clean neutral tones. From inside you would never guess that the building is in fact a couple of shipping containers welded together. Service was very efficient and I loved the fact that we were able to leave a name and contact number and be called when our table was ready. The menu here is quite small and has clear Asian influences (crispy pig’s ear anyone?). Everyone on our table decided to get a burger and the first thing we noticed was how incredibly thick the burger buns were. Not only were they thick but they were also quite dense making it impossible to squish down and fit into your mouth. I don’t know about you, but a cut up burger to me doesn’t taste as good as a burger I am able to hold in my hands and bite into.

In any case Rudimentary is a great addition to Footscray and I really hope that they continue to do well.